Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Putin obviously does. But not from Russians. I've been watching videos where they go around Russian cities and question random people about what they think about the war and Putin himselp. I was furious to learn that majority were speaking positively about the war and were supportive and understanding about Putin. With that kind of attitude, Putin may think about bombing the rest of the Europe.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Those who I have spoken to have a different opinion

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

After Brexit don't most leavers want the BBC to lose it's licence as well?

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Of course they were, most are not going to say anything else in public, for obvious reasons.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

An opinion formed from "watching videos" is on very shaky ground, but thanks for your observation..........

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

BREAKING: Russia tells U.S Ambassador that diplomatic ties are on the verge of being severed. - Reuters.

---------- Post added at 14:59 ---------- Previous post was at 14:30 ----------

NEW: Russia is considering moving MORE battalion tactical groups into Ukraine, but U.S. has seen no physical movements toward further deployments:- Senior U.S. defense official. - Jack Detsch, Foreign Policy.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Sounds like Vladolf has chucked his dummy out.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Let's see if they carry out their threat:

https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-r...dates-12541713

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

He did say so, in the sentence before the one your source quoted he said they picked individual colours based on their prestigious alma mater! He also said their overalls were individually sewn six months before launch!

There's quite a few people that wanted them to lose it before brexit to

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Yeah …. They’re making a lot of chest beating noise right now, seemingly to distract from the fact that they’re in a right mess. Their 3-day war has made next to no progress in 3 weeks and has achieved nothing but war crimes that will haunt Russia for a century.

Zelensky’s suggestion this evening that any proposed peace deal with Russia would be put to the Ukrainian people in a referendum, doesn’t sound like the tactics of a man who thinks his time is running out. Meanwhile Russia’s cynical suggestion that Mauriopul should surrender looks suspiciously like a ploy to save their conscripts having to go into the city in numbers to fight an urban war they aren’t trained or equipped for.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

9iThese are the last stories from the final international journalists before they had to flee. The Russians wanted to capture them and force them to say that everything that they had reported thus far was a lie.

Before anyone reads this, it is very upsetting:

https://apnews.com/article/russia-uk...32f82ca351dede

Meanwhile, the staff at the Russian embassy in London have been tweeting that the pictures are of actors.

Presumably we have pulled out our embassy staff, so these people should be imprisoned for what they are doing, at least until the end of the war.

It was on Sky News on Sunday that Russian soldiers are laughing at people who are suffering and that women are being raped for hours on end by soldiers before being executed.

---------- Post added at 23:28 ---------- Previous post was at 23:25 ----------

What would be the main problems from severing diplomatic ties?

Why do people think that Russia won't do this, what would be their concern?

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

They won't go into Mauriopul. They'll just surround it and starve it.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Or, they might surround it and starve themselves, if this morning’s assessment from the Ukrainian military is anything like accurate. A supply crunch has been in the offing for some time now but the Ukrainians do now seem to believe that in many places the Russians may have only 3 days of food and ammo left.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

That might work if the Russian troops had good logistics and food supplies themselves. I'm not sure that they do.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Who ever put up the data had better watch his back.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

The newspaper is now claiming it was hacked, but if that’s true it was an unusually subtle piece of work.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

The "I was hacked, honest" line seems to have become the default excuse when someone realises they pressed 'submit' without thinking too far ahead ;)

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Lack of components force Russian manufacturer to stop producing tanks.

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/russ...007-2022-03-22

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Let's not forget the lack of drivers since the last lot got incinerated.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Or as the Russians put it - "transferred to light duties"…

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Kyiv Independant.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

He is correct, but making NATO get off the fence could either give Putin Ukraine after all the hell that it's people have been through and the confidence to continue invading countries or result in WWIII.

Neither is a good option, it would be a lot better if his own people could get rid of him.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

NEW: Russia continues to talk about using chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine, but U.S. has no indications of an imminent attack: senior U.S. defense official.

U.S. is monitoring Russian stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons for movements into Ukraine, the official said. - Jack Detsch - Foreign Policy.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Sounds like Russian comms are being hacked. ;)

---------- Post added at 15:41 ---------- Previous post was at 15:35 ----------

Some good Russian jokes making the rounds reported by Garry Kasparov:

and on the success of the war
https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/statu...10906663968768

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Reminds me of the old Stalin/Beria joke..

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Source Business Ukraine mag.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...8&d=1647974812

NSA/GCHQ thank the Ukrainian Armed Forces…

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

BREAKING: Russia would use nuclear weapons only when faced with 'existential threat', Kremlin says. Meanwhile, Ukraine President Zelenskyy to hold video conference with NATO summit this Thursday. - AFP News Agency.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

‘existential threat’ to Russia or Putin?

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Sounds good, but their credibility for telling the truth was lost a long time ago.

---------- Post added at 21:32 ---------- Previous post was at 21:30 ----------

Good point. He's going on 70 and said to be suffering from cancer, so he has nothing to lose if this is true.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

U.S strongly condemns Russia’s Alexei Navalny “sham trial” in which he has been jailed in a maximum security jail for a further 9 years for apparent fraud.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

On the other hand, those around him, who would have to actually launch the things, have lives and families to lose. Unless they also perceived an existential threat I very much doubt they would carry out a launch order.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Latest UK Intel just dropped:

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1647987199

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

They've already started mass deportations

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Not that I’m in anyway suspicious of our media,…….I mean why would I be! Given recent years. Regardless of the supposed kicking Russia are getting. Slowed? Definitely. Stopped no. Russia are in trouble but they are still in a position to take Kiev and all the southern Black Sea territories. If it comes to a negotiation (which it surely has too) they will have a strong hand.

What this conflict has shown is that as a conventional war machine, Russia could not take on NATO. That’s good-ish.

Putin’s only leverage is nuclear, that’s still a lot of leverage.

I think Russia will take Kiev, and see what happens from there.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

I’m curious where you’re getting your information from. If anything, our major news outlets are almost as guilty of fetishising Russian military might as you are here. Ukraine has fought Russia to a standstill everywhere. There is no evidence anywhere that Russia has amassed sufficient combat or logistics to assault Kyiv or is in the process of doing so.

Last month the world was guilty of assuming the Russians would win in days. Assuming they’re going to win in weeks is precisely the same error, based on the same flawed assumptions about Russia’s military capabilities.

---------- Post added at 08:24 ---------- Previous post was at 08:16 ----------

For those interested, here’s some thoughts from St Andrews university’s professor of Strategic Studies, Phillips O’Brien. I’ve been following him and several like him for a couple of weeks now; none of them strike me as contrarian, and in fact they are a refreshing break from what is a very obvious ‘it’s only a matter of time’ editorial narrative that pervades our news media.

https://twitter.com/phillipspobrien/...229403650?s=21

(Click the link for the full piece)

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Thanks for the link - very interesting.

I thought this summed up his thoughts in this conflict

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Yes, I've been following him for a while too. He and his peers seem to always be a few days ahead of the UK national media who do not have the knowledge to make as much sense out of events as they do.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Isn't "UK national media" combined with "make (as) much sense out of events" some kind of oxymoron type thing?

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

gotta love Arnie

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

NATO believes Russia has lost around 40,000 soldiers in Ukraine, either killed/wounded/PoW or otherwise missing.

The Wall Street Journal reports this is based on intelligence that puts the death toll somewhere between 7 and 15k, and statistical modelling to infer the total loss of force strength based on that figure.

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/rus...inMDHzdeRZvAeD

I wonder how aware of this Putin is. Are the yes-men still telling him only what he wants to hear or is he actually out of his tiny little gourd?

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

I suspect the media's expertise in war in Europe has been pared back as it's not been seen as relevant and they've need to control costs tightly.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

The tide could be turning.

https://twitter.com/PhillipsPOBrien/...36079985790980

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

I suspect that, like a lot of industries, experienced staff (particularly regarding warfare) in journalism have now either retired, been let go or decided to move on because they don't care for the sloppy way that things are done now (or for a pay cut).

Inexperienced (cheaper) younger staff are often used across industries these days. It's labelled as being more efficient, but you get what you pay for and it shows. Our local newspaper is full of spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and, barely researched, fluff articles.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

If correct, and I mean if, that is a colossal number.

That’s around 50% total of the British army, and just shy of 35% of estimated number of soldiers in this offensive.

Seems high to me from my armchair.

Losses that high after 3 weeks are totally unsustainable, at that rate the whole Russian offensive could be neutralised in a further 6 weeks.

Which makes me think it’s quite an over estimate….

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

I wonder how many Russian troops are here?

Kyiv Independant.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

And this is precisely the problem with so much of the media commentary we are presently surrounded with. There is a received wisdom that Putin’s a strategic grand master and the Russian military is vast and fearsome. It has been extremely difficult for us to believe the evidence of our eyes in the face of this.

The reality is that the Russians have been halted almost everywhere; northwest of Kyiv a significant number of them are now surrounded by Ukrainian troops, and everywhere else they are critically low on supplies. Even in the southeast, they’re hardly winning a military victory at Mariupol. They’re simply erasing it from the map.

NATO’s latest casualty estimate is based on careful research, including signals intelligence, which means to some extent the information is coming from the Russians themselves, albeit involuntarily. They’re not simply taking as gospel whatever they hear from the Ukrainian government. If you haven’t checked out Phillips O’Brien or Mike Martin on Twatter yet, you really should. Their calm, academic analysis is based on research and experience, not a predetermined editorial line (or, indeed, a reluctance to admit they may have grossly overestimated the effectiveness of the Russian military prior to this conflict).

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

No Kit Kats for the Russians any longer. https://www.reuters.com/business/ret...ik-2022-03-23/
This will bring them to their knees for sure.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

This offensive has proven that Russia is no match for NATO, like almost Iraqi standards…

But, if this goes the way as being reported in the last 48hrs, if Russia fail to take Kiev, and the other objectives, if Ukraine manage to neutralise the Russian invasion ( as I say a massive if ) I don’t know where that leaves us..globally. I don’t know where that leaves Russia. Not a Superpower. A nuclear power yes, but so is North Korea and no one takes them seriously.

If Ukraine are moving to a position to be able to neutralise the a Russian advance In finality I don’t know if I should be happy or bricking it.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Unless you're a Russian general who promised Putin Kyiv would have been taken in less than a week, I see no reason to worry, quite the opposite.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

I think it may just become an impasse. Russia weakened from their failed advances and economically crippled will be unable to commit a large number of forces to take Kyiv whilst Ukraine can't push Russia back out entirely.

Russia just become stuck in a war that is costing them money, men and equipment.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

The question in that scenario is what happens to Putin and in particular, with regard to the 2024 election coming up.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

It is not just Generals who need to worry.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/20...g-twelve-days/

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

To be fair, when a heart stops beating it is a problem

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

A telling comparator is that Russia saw 15,000 troop losses during their ten years in Afghanistan.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

But is that figure believable?

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Ukraine 'destroys Russian landing ship' after state media revealed its location with propaganda footage: Huge fireball rises over port that had been taken by Putin's forces

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...yivs-navy.html

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Kyiv Independent Journalist:

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

BREAKING: Kremlin declares UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, “most active anti-Russian leader”. - Middle East Eye..

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Dunno why they are singling him out. Maybe think he a weak target. Would have thought Biden was the most active

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Biden can’t even distinguish if he’s suffering from Covid or not, days ago, he was standing at the podium that plans had to be redrawn as “First Lady’s husband got Covid”, as he carries on mumbling, he’s interrupted and reminded that the First Ladies husband would be himself, he actually meant, Kamala Harris’s husband, or “Second Gentlemen”.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

oh dear hahaha

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

is that like putting a Fatwah on him? watch out for polonium tipped umbrellas Boris

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Don't be daft, arsenic in the wallpaper paste is easier ;)

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Pretty sure, it being Johnson, all they would need would be a female with a (recent) pulse...

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

BREAKING: U.S President Joe Biden responds to a question at NATO summit, about a military response on Russia if they use Chemical weapons in Ukraine, saying it depends on their nature of use on how U.S/NATO respond to Russia.

---------- Post added at 17:48 ---------- Previous post was at 17:43 ----------

Biden: Russia should be removed from G20.

---------- Post added at 17:57 ---------- Previous post was at 17:48 ----------

President Biden pressed again on chemical weapons use by Russia, said NATO will respond in kind on Russia, yes, he actually said that.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

If Russia is struggling in Ukraine, it’s not getting past NATO’s current Eastern Flank, under conventional means.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1648149628

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

I would take anything he says with a large dose of salt.

NATO are not going to war with Russia over chemical weapons use.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

We as in the UK aren't responding in kind because we don't have any! I suspect he means the retaliation would be as severe rather than exactly the same but still, wouldn't have hurt to have made that clear

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Unless we've saved that bench from Salisbury and have plans to drop it off in Red Square - you know just on the off chance Vlad fancies an afternoon stroll.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Russia hints at scaling back war on Ukraine

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/5...e93e9a0b8a84e6

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

This is a good thread on the topic from the forum's favourite Tweeter, Dr Mike Martin.
https://twitter.com/ThreshedThought/...29085546053634

---------- Post added at 16:49 ---------- Previous post was at 16:48 ----------

Yup, redefine your objectives so you can call the mission a success. ;)

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

BREAKING: In apparent gaffe, Biden tells US troops in Poland they will see the bravery of Ukrainians “when you are there.”

Biden made the remark as he met the U.S. Air Force’s 82nd Airborne Division. Previously, Biden repeatedly said that the U.S. will not deploy any troops to Ukraine. - Kyiv Independent.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

This muppet in charge of nuclear weapons is almost as worrying as Putin.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Absolutely, he's a dithering mess!

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Another Russian general killed in Ukraine.

Yakov Ryezantsev was killed in Chornobaivka, a site of intense fighting just north of Kherson, according to Oleksiy Arestovych, advisor to the head of Ukraine's presidential office.

Kyiv Independant.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

He's not the only one sadly, don't want to be the guy playing the whataboutery card but honestly, I used to think we got the politicians we deserved but America doesn't deserve theirs and we don't deserve ours

well what I would do, is I would, we would, we have tremendous military capability and what we can do without planes, to be honest with you, without 44 year old jets, what we can do is enormous and we should be doing it and we should be helping them to survive, they're doing an amazing job

What is that even supposed to be, my dog could have barked a better response to the question what I'd be doing differently in Ukraine to Biden

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

My Theory:
Both Biden and Putin are the final 'working trials' of advanced robotics and artificial general intelligence.

. . . Skynet is coming . . be afraid . . very afraid :D

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

The Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu hadn’t been seen for a while - the Ukrainians are reporting he’s had a heart attack.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...2&d=1648291937

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Heart quite likely attacked by a few rounds of 5.45 ;)

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

BREAKING: Russia is preparing and gearing up for an attack on Poland, according to Andrii Deshchytsia, the Ambassador of Ukraine in Poland.

https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/e...03/25/7136620/

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

They can not even handle Ukraine, I doubt they are really planning anything against Poland

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Never underestimate the ambitions of a nut case.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

NEW: Russia running out of cruise missiles, only have 50% left, according to U.S Defence officials:

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcr...ound-briefing/

---------- Post added at 12:26 ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 ----------

I saw this remark commenting on this issue:

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Looks to me like the Ukraine ambassador is trying to drag Poland into the fray by asserting the Russians are going to attack. . . . much like the Ukraine gaffer is trying to drag NATO in :rolleyes:

I could be wrong, but I see no gain for Russia in attacking Poland

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Latest UK Intel:

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1648297879

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Japan’s PM: Prospect of Russia using nuclear weapons ‘increasingly real.’

Fumio Kishida said he sees growing chance of Russia using nuclear weapons. Japan, the only country attacked by nuclear weapons, has regularly been calling against nuclear armaments. - Kyiv Independent.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

This is the final trials, think that need to put them back in development because they're shite

Attacking Poland again you mean, they're old enemies like England and France or Scotland and well anyone really and some people just can't let crap like that go

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

“Russia may conduct a full-scale offensive on Poland, the Baltic states & Kazakhstan as part of a global military special operation on demilitarization & denazification,” - Russian MP Sergei Savostyanov.

The Russians have lost their minds.

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/statu...80989891416065

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Even in this country there are a few mental backbenchers you can rely on to give a juicy quote to the Sunday papers.

There is absolutely zero chance of Russia moving on any NATO territory. It’s barely capable of moving within Ukraine right now.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Kazakhstan are well capable of defending themselves.
Given Russia cant even take Ukraine, they arent going to take on even more.

On top of that, since it borders China, I would think they would take a rather dim view.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Without being churlish, but “you and whose army”? would be the reply

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Agreed entirely.

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Leaked video of the Kremlin discussing their new Russian POWs propaganda campaign.

Hilarous but close to the truth. Especially the 3 ply.

https://twitter.com/TourOfTheFuture/...12375907598338

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Spot on, certainly not Russia's! ;)

---------- Post added 28-03-2022 at 00:07 ---------- Previous post was 27-03-2022 at 22:43 ----------

Bellingcat is rumoured to be revealing that the FSB paid some Ukranians handsomely to launch a coup d'état immediately after the invasion. However, the Ukranians just took the money and didn't launch the coup.

From Eliot Higgins at Bellingcat 27/3/22:
https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/sta...75669154533379

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

So pretty much everywhere then .. :dozey:

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

From Bellingcat as reported by Sky News.

https://news.sky.com/story/roman-abr...talks-12576989

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

I think those living in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America will largely be ok.

---------- Post added at 19:06 ---------- Previous post was at 17:33 ----------

Some good news for Johnson - Zelensky ranks the UK's support the most out of the UK, France, Germany and USA. And he's not particularly happy with France.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...d695ee7e2f3031

Re: Russia has invaded Ukraine
 

Contrary to the British penchant for self-loathing (and some justifiable anger about our lukewarm response to the humanitarian crisis), we have been sending them truckloads of arms and training them to use the stuff for nearly 10 years.

Much of the expert commentary (that doesn’t make it into the national press, sadly) is pointing out that Ukraine’s army, despite being ex-Soviet, does not fight like that. It fights like a Western army. That didn’t happen by accident.